Cryptocurrencies is not something that I would participate in myself, but I know that quite a few do, And if it brings in more funds to the project, then this is a useful initiative that I support.

Same Here, I do wish that Boinc Utopia was still running.
This is how I was Donating to BOINC Projects.
Crunching@EVGA The Number One Team in the BOINC Community. Folding@EVGA The Number One Team in the Folding@Home Community.

Well, I will say that I'm certainly not a full convert to cryptocurrencies, in that it is only supply and demand that set their value. Should demand for a cryptocurrency drop to zero, the value will as well. With quantum computing there may be a technological limit to the value of existing cryptocurrencies.

But we will accept them if the cost to us of accepting them is small, even if the cost to utilize the currency is not negligible.

For those not into cryptocurrencies, the benefit is that you can earn a few cents a day in gridcoin by crunching on certain BOINC projects, which we are already doing. The drawback it that it's not easy for a non-technical person to participate, and it's not immediately clear you're doing it right. @SETIEric

You are right, Gridcoin is not that easy to set up, unless you are somewhat technically inclined. (I am, and it was fun for me, but I think is frustrating for most folks...) If you have good hardware you can earn far more than a few cents a day. Take a look at where I am at with Gridcoin... https://www.gridcoinstats.eu/cpid/bc0621a4ac4610ffa400a0d298c02e23 . Note that I have six good computers participating with good NVIDIA hardware.

I wish more people knew about Gridcoin. It encourages participation in BOINC for good causes and is far better than wasting CPU/ASIC cycles on a useless POW algorithm for Bitcoin.

I am earning about $6 per day with GRC at about $0.10 per unit. At least it offsets my electricity bills!

I just sent 1000 GRC to SETI@home's new GRC wallet address. Please note on my account.